Yes, it is silly to demonise one ingredient (without any real health arguments). And no, there will be no side of butter in this place because there isn't much of it in the kitchen (except may be a tiny bit in the the pastry section).
A friend of mine works in the Brussels branch and whenever I want paleo high dining I go there - if I don't take smth like risotto and don't eat any bread, most of the starters and mains are 95% paleo. Yes, no butter or cream is silly from Primal perspective, however some of the other SPE rules make awfully lots of sense, like the main dish should be mainly vegetables and protein. You won't see many starchy carbs - in fact there is no more than a spoonful of potatoes etc. on any of the mains but there will be a great variety of veggies, a lot of them from "old and forgotten" varietes. Many organic and in season. And because they don't do butter, sauces are amazing - all home-made stock based or with vegetable purees - yummy! Desserts have to be balanced by adding lots of fruits and nuts. I would be very happy if more restaurants adopted this approach. After all I can have as much butter at home as I like

Later in the article, they interviewed a French chef. His responses were great. The day French cooking eschews butter and cream will be the end of civilization

I also loved this little tidbit:

"The University of Massachusetts had sent the SPE team a sample of the oil-seeping pesto that it normally offers in its dining halls, where about 40,000 meals are served each day. Mr. Moraes had come up with an alternative: a kale pesto made with walnuts and roasted garlic. Spoonfuls went around the table on small plates."

First - the over the top meant to be "EWWW FAT!!!" description: "oil-seeping pesto". Bad Extra Virgin Olive Oil! Bad Oil! Gimme a break.

And I'm sorry, but the alternative pesto described above sounds absolutely disgusting. And I love kale, walnuts and roasted garlic.

It does get annoying to have to ask for REAL butter everytime you order something (yes I'll have a baked potato when I'm out ). Asking for butter doesn't get it (you get margarine)....Emphasizing real butter sometimes works.....More often than not you have to say "Bring me real butter not any of that margarine crap or your not getting a tip"....that one usually works best.

I really don't care long as he's not replacing butter with crap oil. I just won't eat it either way.

There is a guy on the second page with a very reasonable response. He says why kill the whole pig if your not going to use the fatty parts? He also goes on to say that butter and cream are "human foods" .....I like that guy.

It does get annoying to have to ask for REAL butter everytime you order something (yes I'll have a baked potato when I'm out ). Asking for butter doesn't get it (you get margarine)....Emphasizing real butter sometimes works.....More often than not you have to say "Bring me real butter not any of that margarine crap or your not getting a tip"....that one usually works best.

I really don't care long as he's not replacing butter with crap oil. I just won't eat it either way.

There is a guy on the second page with a very reasonable response. He says why kill the whole pig if your not going to use the fatty parts? He also goes on to say that butter and cream are "human foods" .....I like that guy.

That was my favorite line, about the pig. Also why Eric Ripert said he would never use it, since it implies the other dishes are unhealthy and irresponsibly produced.

I think it's weird that this label originated at high-end restaurants, where the ingredients are probably top-quality to begin with.

Form what I understand they are getting a lot of the flavor from house made stocks and reductions. I can't argue with that.

I too liked the pig comment. Don't they realize that there is a movement of going back to older pig breeds that have a higher fat content, not to mention the whole snout to tail movement?

I don't doubt they are able to make tasty food at a high end restaurant like that but when this mentality gets exported to less swank establishments and institutions you can bet it will not be so yummy.